Before Wednesday’s Denver game, center Johan Petro said: “I don’t really see my role as an offensive guy right now. I’m just trying to rebound, block some shots, run the floor and set some screens.”
But Petro proceeded to score eight points in just 17 minutes, while filling it at center for the injured Nene. He even hit a nifty pull-up jumper from the right elbow over Al Horford in third.
It was a helpful helping from the big man, who is finally getting some playing time.
“I’ve said all along – I think he can play NBA basketball,” coach George Karl said. “How much improvement and confidence he can get from the short minutes is difficult.”
All this said, Petro’s key contributions will be on the boards. He’s 7-feet tall on a team of scorers. If he’s going to make his mark, it’s going to be hitting the boards and bruising the opposing bigs. As a reserve, he’ll have fouls to give too, though he said: “Staying out of foul trouble is going to be huge,” Petro said. “I’m definitely going to go out there and play tough and contain my man as much as possible, try not to give up any easy stuff.”
Whether we see more Petro is undetermined. He’s playing like he needs to be playing more, but Karl is does not like to shake up his rotation.
“Disrupting rotation and minutes can create a disharmony to your rhythm,” the coach said.